Pennsylvania Democratic Party         Aug – Nov 2020

Field Organizer, Allegheny County, PA

Delivered Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to the Biden/Harris campaign by increasing Democratic turnout in Allegheny County to a record high 419,000, +48,000 votes over 2016, with a 59% majority vs 56% in 2016 and 57% in 2008 & 2012, outperforming Clinton and Obama. 

• Evolved virtual organizing techniques during ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing Zoom for all one-on-one’s, organizing meetings, training, and phone banks, and scaling capacity to train and manage GOTV “virtual staging locations” of up to 600 phone bankers at a time.
• Successfully focused our direct voter contact efforts on turning out the early vote, resulting in 65% of Biden voters voting by mail and 80% of mail-in voters voting for Biden.
• Recruited, trained, and led 450 unique volunteers and converted 148 into active volunteers with multiple completed shifts. Scheduled 2,500 action shifts (canvass, phone bank, and text bank) in 3 months. Our strong voter education and turnout effort increased turnout to 77% and lowered the rate of rejected mail-in ballots to .03% from 1% in 2016. 

Organizing Together 2020 Pennsylvania               March – June 2020

Field Organizer, Allegheny, Beaver, and Washington Counties            

Led direct voter outreach in urban, suburban, and rural areas of western Pennsylvania, with a goal of increasing voter turnout in a state that Hillary Clinton lost by 44,000 votes in 2016, by persuading voters to take advantage of newly-passed legislation allowing no-excuse Vote by Mail. 

• Pioneered virtual organizing during COVID-19 pandemic utilizing Zoom for all one-on-one’s, training, phone banks, and regional/statewide events including Get Out the Vote. 
• Remotely recruited and trained 42 active volunteers, including 10 volunteer leaders, in direct voter outreach skills such as phone banking using both OpenVPB and Thrutalk autodialer, resulting in 105 completed volunteer shifts and 20,000 voter contact attempts.
• Utilized relational organizing to recruit, train, and manage 10 out-of-state volunteers.
  Fluent in organizing tools such as VAN, ThruTalk, ThruText, Hustle, & Mobilize.

Mike Bloomberg 2020 Presidential Campaign, Boston, MA                 January – March 2020

Field Organizer, MA 5th Congressional District

Led direct voter outreach in the western half of MA 5th Congressional District for Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign. 

• Recruited 36 volunteers and trained them in direct voter outreach skills such as canvassing using Minivan app and phone banking using VAN Virtual Phone Bank and Thrutalk Autodialer. 
• Ran the MetroWest staging location for both canvassing and phone banking during GOTV period for the MA Democratic Primary on Super Tuesday.
• Served as surrogate at Democratic Town Committee meetings and Democratic Town Caucuses in 8 MetroWest towns in front of audiences as large as 250 voters.
• Planned and led issue-based forums and house parties focusing on Climate Change, Healthcare, and Gun Safety, for example, a 5k Fun Run and Climate Change discussion.

OTHER WORK EXPERIENCE

Extensive corporate retail buying experience in Home Furnishings and Hardlines. Developed strategies that surpass sales and gross margin goals. Showcased strong knowledge of merchandising, assortment planning, product development, negotiation, and inventory management in an omnichannel environment incorporating both brick & mortar and ecommerce. Consistently delivered positive results, stemming from passion for the business and ability to lead and collaborate cross-functionally, while inspiring engagement and accountability. Built strong win/win relationships with internal and external partners. Trained, coached, and developed junior staff for successful advancement within the organization.

BJ’s Wholesale Club, Westborough, MA           2017 – 2019

Category Merchant, Automotive, Home Improvement, Consumer Batteries, and Lighting  

Developed assortment plans and marketing strategy to meet sales and beat gross margin plans. Developed private label programs in key categories. Led cross-functional teams to develop inventory and promo plans for seasonal and newness buys. Annual volume: $132 million in 215 warehouse clubs and bjs.com.

• Led profit improvement process in multiple categories to negotiate new vendor terms and contracts resulting in multi-million dollar gross margin improvement.
• Identified white space in Home Improvement assortment and developed expanded assortment to fill voids. 

Bloomingdale’s, New York, NY           2000 – 2017

Buyer, Luggage and Travel                     2010 – 2017

Buyer, Metal Giftware, Flatware, Silver, and Frames               2000 – 2004 & 2008 – 2010

Buyer, China and Ceramic Giftware           2004 – 2008

Consistently identified new sales and margin opportunities, filling white space by launching new classifications, brands and items, growing them to top volume positions. Drove omnichannel growth with aggressive in-store and online promotions by negotiating for off-price purchases and closeouts, and partnering with digital marketing team on an online Flash and One Day Sale strategy. Annual Volume: $30 million in 40 stores and .com.

• Identified hard-side luggage as a major growth opportunity with Rimowa as the key resource. Grew Rimowa to the biggest luggage brand in the department and hard-side to 45% from 7% of the business. Luggage was the fastest growing area in Home Furnishings, growing over 50% in six years, resulting in Home Furnishings Buyer of the Year in 2014 for best sales and margin performance.
• Maximized sales and gross margin opportunities to deliver the best sales performance in Home Furnishings in a very challenging 2008 (Financial Crisis) and beat sales and gross margin plans every year from 2009 thru 2014. 
• Partnered with limited distribution resources such as Rimowa and Michael Aram to curate a differentiated assortment that distinguished Bloomingdale’s from competitors.
• Managed inventory by negotiating end of season and promotions and stock balancing rtv’s. 
• Overseas buying trips to work directly with factories in Europe and Asia.
• Trained, coached, and developed junior staff for successful advancement. 

EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in American Studies Brown University, Providence, RI